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Men talk to men about assaults

September 3, 2007 12:35 am

BY REBECCA BLATT

One in four.

That's the number of women who, researchers estimate, are victims of rape or attempted rape during their college careers.

One in 20.

That's the number of college women who report their sexual assaults to law enforcement officials.

One in three.

That's the number of college sexual-assault victims who do not tell anyone about their experiences

The statistics speak for themselves.

Sexual assault at universities is prevalent, underreported and often seen as taboo. But a new movement is unfolding with the hope of changing that.

For decades, schools have tried to address the problem in a variety of ways. Most offer educational seminars during new-student orientations to give students, especially females, safety strategies. Some campus police departments offer self- defense classes, and many university women's centers provide victim support and peer-education groups.

But despite these attempts, the prevalence of sexual assault has remained consistent, says Adam Lalor, executive director of One in Four, a nonprofit that aims to reduce sexual assault on campuses.

So leaders in sexual-assault prevention have begun to look for new ways to attack the problem. They say that efforts focused on women may not address the entire issue.

"All of those things are important in some ways, but they really only address the behavior of the potential victim," says Chris Kilmartin, a University of Mary Washington professor of psychology whose research focuses on sexual assault.

John Foubert, founder of One in Four, agrees.

"It's sort of like if you have a dam that's breaking. All you're doing if you're educating women is putting your finger in the dike at different places," he says.

While most men are not rapists, as many as 98 percent of rapists are men.

For that reason, experts say encouraging men to stand up to peers who commit sexual assault may be a key to success. The goal is to approach sexual assault as a societal issue rather than as a women's issue.

Many Virginia universities have begun adopting that philosophy and reaching out to male students.

Robert Franklin, the Virginia Department of Health's male-outreach coordinator for sexual violence prevention, says he works with colleges across the state. His male-focused position was created in 2002.

Virginia Tech, George Mason University, the University of Mary Washington, the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University are among those with whom Franklin collaborates.

His office sponsors a conference each fall, which tries to mobilize men to prevent sexual assault. In addition, Franklin works with a coalition of Virginia colleges to reach men throughout the year. He provides on-campus training, posters, brochures and funding for speakers.

Franklin says he thinks educators are learning how to talk to men more effectively. As a result, he says, he thinks men are becoming more open to listening.

"Twenty years ago, the message was all men are rapists and it was like, 'Why do I want to be here to get blamed?'" he says. "Our message now is sexual violence is going to affect you It's going to be somebody you love. Let me give you some skills to know how to help them out when it does."

Foubert, an assistant professor of psychology at the College of William and Mary, says that One in Four has developed the only program proven to change perpetrator behavior.

The group supports four recent college graduates who tour the the country each year in a recreational vehicle. The men lead a curriculum geared toward educating men on a variety of campuses. It begins by showing students a videotape describing a male being raped by two men.

"It allows the college guys to see what it might feel like as a survivor to experience rape rather than as a perpetrator," Foubert says.

The One-in-Four educators then talk to students about how they can help friends who are assaulted, why they should not commit rape and how to intervene if they see someone who might take advantage of someone else.

Foubert estimates that the RV tour has reached 21,000 students in the past three years, and he says a study of the program's effectiveness was recently accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

That research followed about 500 freshmen fraternity members over seven months and found that those who participated in the One-in-Four curriculum were less likely to commit sexual assault than those not involved with the program.

In addition to those included on the RV tour, about 30 campuses currently promote the One-in-Four approach through their own chapters. The College of William and Mary, James Madison University and the University of Virginia all have active campus affiliates.

Rachel Forst, a student at the University of Virginia who is involved with the school's peer sexual-assault education programs, says that programs like One in Four foster critical dialogue on campus.

"If people continue to talk about these issues, and it becomes less taboo, then the situation will get better," she says.

Foubert says that while educating men might not completely eliminate sexual assault, it should help reduce it.

"When we're able to educate men in techniques of bystander interventions--to do something to influence other men--then we change the society and really have a difference on the issue," he says.